The present invention relates to a terminal device and a method for using different services offered via a telecommunications network.
The present stage of development and the present development trends are marked by a large outlay for terminal devices at the user end. Thus, personal computers are mostly used as workstation systems with operating systems and diverse programs (applications) and a correspondingly large outlay in hardware. In the field of entertainment technology, television and radio are complemented with equally costly devices such as set-top box, d-box, home infotainment center and multimedia home platform.
Personal computers are highly developed computer systems on which most applications are executed locally. In the field of office communications, most personal computers are connected to a network, of which a part have access to the Internet and are able to use applications of servers, mainly using a corresponding client software.
Set-top boxes are based on computer systems having one or more processors, an operating system and, in most cases, a Java layer permitting integration of different services via an MHP-compliant API (application programming interface). Applications are provided to the user via different data channels and run locally on the set-top box. They enable a series of services to be displayed on the display of the customer, generally on the television screen.
The services/applications which are presently considered important include enhanced TV, interactive TV, Internet browsing, and email. To provide such services in a set-top box, a considerable development effort is required both in the fields of hardware and software.
Further demands are placed on devices of this kind, for example, the flexibility of the system, in particular, the implementation of new services by software download via one of the data channels, security of the offered contents against improper use or distribution, as well as a small outlay for the terminal device for low-cost introduction of the services. If flexibility cannot be guaranteed by software downloads but depends on the hardware of the devices, the problem of device obsolescence ensues.